Trapped By A John Killer
by bonescastlerock
Summary: Beckett and Castle are trapped by a killer who enjoys booby-trapping things, and killing people named John  Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, i just brought them home for a visit! :D Just to be safe, I've bumped the rating to a M
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is the first story I've posted and I generally don't write stories, but this wouldn't leave me alone. Just to get you into the time where this fits, I started writing it after Countdown aired, but it's set about three months into the future from that point. **

**AN II: Th****anks to ****ciao2147 who noticed that my tenses were all mixed up. This chapter had been edited and reposted due to that.**

**Chapter 1**

Kate Beckett was annoyed. No, she had been annoyed earlier, now? Now she was frustrated, and she blamed it all on herself. Or, most of it anyway. Not that it was her fault, only her current predicament was, everything else? Well, she was sure Castle would blame it on the universe.

_In the early hours of the morning she was called to a body. She collected the one who had dubbed himself her partner, and gone to take a look. _

_Therein started her annoyance. _

_She couldn't get close enough to the body to look properly, god only knows how Lanie got to it._

"_Ask Esposito," Her ever present shadow said, and she cringed because she knew what was coming. "I bet he could tell you all about how flexible she is." _

_The body it's self looked like it was a suicide, except that the feet were flat on the ground. There was a noose around the neck, with the rope pulled tightly enough so that the body appeared to be standing by itself. Beckett could only see the back of the body. Castle went to inspect the tangle (really, that was the only word to describe what it was) of fishing wire on their side of the body, there was another about the same distance from the other side of the body. _

"_Don't touch that, Castle. We have no idea what might happen, you could get Lanie killed." She turned to Lanie. "Cause of death?"_

"_Gunshot to the chest."_

It had taken way to long for Lanie to get the body back to the lab, and what had annoyed her even more was the guys name. John Doe. Who would call their kid that? No one. When Ryan had looked into it he found that he had changed his name. Why? Why would anyone do that? To make life harder if they were killed? And why was she thinking about this now? Shouldn't he be trying to get out of her predicament?

Where was she now? She was in the apartment of one James L. Webb. They had gone to John Doe's apartment and found Webb's mail everywhere, that's why they were there, but that is not why she was frustrated. It was because she'd come with just Castle.

_The door had opened as soon as she knocked on it, she immediately pulled out her gun. She walked in, with Castle right behind her. The next thing they knew, they were trapped. Solid metal closed over the door and windows. They were trapped, but they were alone._

That's why she was at this point trapped inside the only suspects house, with no idea where he was, and only knowing that he is fond of booby-trapping things.

The only thing that makes this slightly better is that she has Castle for company. She knows that she would never say this aloud to him, or anyone else, but she enjoys his company, no more so than she has in the last week. He seems to know just how to make her day brighter, even if she does feel like she needs to keep him on a leash sometimes. Like now for instance.

"Castle! Keep your hands to yourself. This is evidence."

"But, I'm wearing gloves." He says to her and, as if to prove his point, he waves his purple clad hands in her face, and pulls out another pair for her.

"I'm not even going to ask." She mumbles to herself, and rolls her eyes at him as she takes them. She doesn't put them on just yet, she has a phone call to make, and she can't believe she's forgotten to do so until now. It must have been the amount of frustration within her system. She dials.

"Motgomery."

This was just _fantastic._ Just because she had spent all that time thinking about how she got in this little jam, meant that she had no way of getting out of it until at least morning.

Yes, that's right. Kate Beckett was trapped (for want of a better word) in a murder suspect's apartment, overnight, with none other than Richard Castle, best selling mystery writer, partner, shadow, what-ever. Because in her mind that's what he is at this moment in time. Her 'what-ever'.

She just knew that this could become somewhat awkward, purely because he didn't know what was (or wasn't) going on in her life. It would just make it more awkward if he did. That's what she keeps telling herself anyway. While she is thinking about this, her phone rings.

"Beckett."

"Hey Boss," It's Ryan. "We've called a few security places and no-one can even come look at it until morning. So unless we find Webb, you guys are stuck for the unforeseeable future. Try and make the best of it!" he hangs up before Beckett can say anything.

"Any news?"

Beckett turns abruptly, walking into Castle who has been standing behind her for who knows how long. "Don't creep up on me like that! That was Ryan, there would be only one way to get us out anytime soon, and that would be to find Webb, but he seems to have flown the coop. So we're stuck here. For the night. Alone."

"Look on the bright side." Castle says. Beckett just raises an eyebrow at him. "We still have our creature comforts. The main one being power."

Suddenly they are plunged into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed and alerted my story, big confidence boost. This chapter is really short, and could have been added to the last one, but alas it was not. After this they get longer, I promise. **

**AN II: Th****anks to ****ciao2147 who noticed that my tenses were all mixed up. This chapter had been edited and reposted due to that.**

**Chapter 2**

_Could her day get any better?_

There was a thump.

"Castle!" Beckett yells at him. "At least wait until I have my flashlight out to start walking around again." She searches around for him with her beam of light and finds him sprawled on the floor. _That is kind of adorable, _she thinks, then scolds herself, and adds, "I blame this on you."

"I was going to find candles," He says, as form of explanation, while she gives him a hand up. "Everyone keeps candles in the kitchen, and speaking of kitchens, we should find something to eat."

"Just be careful, we don't know what might happen to us in here." But she hands him her spare flashlight and follows him into the kitchen.

They find candle and matches, and nothing pops out at them. Castle finds the makings of a great meal, and a gas stove to cook it on, and nothing jumps out at them. He also finds wine, still nothing jumps out at him. They sit down to a lovely candle lit dinner of,

"Omelettes?" Asks Beckett confused. She was too busy watching to make sure nothing would happen, and checking out the rest of the apartment, to notice what he was cooking. "Just don't cook me pancakes in the morning if there is any chance they might get us out."

"But what if I need to say thank you so much for last night." He respond in a tone too pure to be innocent.

"You wish." She states, _and maybe so do I, _she adds to herself. She scolds her inner voice again, she really needs get that under control.

They finish their meal in comfortable silence, until,

"How's Josh?" Castle asks her.

"He's in Haiti." She tells him, a distraught look on her face, which tells him to ask no questions. She is surprised it has taken him this long to ask about it, but she still isn't ready to tell him. She was going to, she should, he's her best friend, but now, being stuck here, she just can't, it would be too weird.

"Well, its late. We should get some sleep." He says to her.

"There's only one bed, you'll have to sleep on the couch." Her immediate response takes over.

"But I'll get cold." There comes out the nine-year-old again.

"Fine, I'll sleep on the couch."

"But then you'll get cold." They have managed to make it to the bedroom by this point. "And that bed is plenty big enough for the both of us."

He's right, _of course,_ he always seems to be. The bed is huge. "Fine, but keep your hands to yourself."

"Scouts Honour." He replies.

As she stands there and tries not to watch him strip down to his boxers she wonders what she will sleep in. That is until he hands over his shirt. _This will not end well, _she thinks to herself, but she takes it and goes into the bathroom anyway. She has no other options.

When she comes out, the sight is enough to make her weak at the knees. Castle is there, clad only in his boxers, re-making the bed. She must have made a sound, because he looks up and sees a confused look on her face.

"I didn't really like the idea of sleeping under the same sheets as a killer, do you?" He answers her look, and as if it's something they do together every day, she helps him. _I could get used to this,_ the little voice in her head pipes up before she can stop it.

When they finish they climb into bed. Him on one side, and her very firmly on the other. But she can't get away from his presence, his smell. She knew it was a bad idea to wear his shirt to bed. That's what she will blame her dream on in the morning anyway, because for the first time in a week she can give herself an explanation for the reoccurring dream she has been having.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks again to all who have reviewed, makes me happy. Here is the longer chapter, with anything like luck they will all be this long in the future. :D**

**AN II: Th****anks to ****ciao2147 who noticed that my tenses were all mixed up. This chapter had been edited and reposted due to that.**

**Chapter 3**

"_Richard Castle!" Kate yells, as walks into the precinct. She would usually stride, but is finding it difficult as she is heavily pregnant with twins, and has two small children with her. But she can still yell. "Richard Castle! You told me you'd only be here for half an hour! You've been gone for two hours! Why are you even here? You are MY partner. MINE!"_

"_Sweetheart.." He pleads, but knows it is no good, it won't help._

"_Don't you 'sweetheart' me! You know you can't be gone this long! Don't you remember what happened last time?"_

_At this point Lanie comes and takes the small children away from their slightly crazed mother. "Joanna, Alexander, would you like to come down to the morgue?" Which is answered by delightful squeals from the children._

"_Yes, I do remember what happened." Rick answers. "It's not..?" She nods, "Why didn't you just call..?"_

"_Because there's no one home for me to leave the kids with this time!" she screams and continues to while he bustles her onto the elevator, out the door and into a cab, to go to the hospital._

_The next thing she knows she is lying in a hospital bed, with Rick next to her, and two small cribs, with two equally small babies in them. She is warm, she feels safe, Rick has his arms around her. She could stay here forever..._

She is startled awake by her phone ringing, but she can't move. Castle really does have his arms around her. She tries to pull free, but he pulls her closer. It seems he is also having a pleasant dream, about the two of them, if him mumbling her name has anything to do with it.

She tries to wake him, but it's no good, he sleeps like the dead. Eventually her phone stops ringing, so she gives up and, in the warmth of his embrace, goes back to sleep.

When she wakes again she is confused, she's alone, she's cold, and she's had that dream again. But different. Instead of Castle being at the precinct, Josh is there, telling her that something has happened to him, and she goes to the hospital, and then her phone started ringing, and woke her again.

She reaches for her phone, looks at who it is, but doesn't answer. It's Josh. She hates him right now. For ruining her perfect dream. For messing up her life, because she knows she didn't end it soon enough, because she knows it was a bad idea to start with.

Suddenly Castle walks in with what seems to be breakfast, and she smiles when she sees that he hasn't cooked her pancakes. He has cooked bacon and eggs, and it smells heavenly.

He sits down on the bed with her. "Who was calling you?" he asks, pointing at her phone, which is still in her hand.

"No one of importance." That was true, he isn't important anymore.

"Right then. Stop staring at your phone like its grown a head and eat your breakfast before it goes cold." He says to her, the last part sounding like he was speaking to a five-year-old.

"Yes, Dad." She retaliates, then realising what she's said starts eating.

Breakfast is amazing as far as Beckett was concerned. _A man who knows his way around the kitchen_. That voice in her head is getting annoying, but it's right, Castle does know his way around a kitchen. Just as she's thinking this her phone rings again.

"Beckett."

"Hey Boss." It's Ryan, and he sounds _way_ too happy. "I tried to call you earlier,"-s_o that's who it was-_"but you didn't answer. Anyway, we've found another one. Name's John Smith, 34, real estate agent. Strung up the same as John Doe, went to his apartment and found mail for a Steven Reid there. But get this, it has the address you two are at now on it."

"So does this apartment belong to Webb or Reid?" Beckett asks.

"Neither," Esposito pipes up. "I've just finished looking into that, and that apartment belongs to a Mr J. K. Hedge. So I looked into him, and he would be 105 this year if he were still alive, which he's not, he died 20 years ago."

"So, what about the new body?" Beckett asks her boys.

"Same as the first. Gunshot wound to the chest, hung by a rope so that he was standing flat on his feet, fishing wire all around him. Forensics hasn't come back yet, but it's probably the same as the last one." Ryan tells her.

"Any news on getting us out of here?" She asks, annoyed that one of them hasn't mentioned it.

"We've got a guy from a security place going to take a look, but no one I talked to seemed very optimistic about getting you out today." Esposito tells her.

"OK, keep me posted." She tells them and hangs up on them.

She looks up and Castle is bouncing on the spot, he doesn't even have to ask, she knows what he wants.

"They found another body this morning. John Smith. Found the same way as the last victim. Had mail at his apartment for Steven Reid, at this address, but this house belongs to J. K. Hedge, who is deceased." Beckett tells him.

"So we have no idea who the killer is? What now?" Castle asks.

"Now," Beckett answers him. "We start looking for evidence here." She waves her arm in the direction of the rest of the house. "You start here, I'll start in the kitchen. You got more of those gloves?"

He nods and pulls two sets of gloves out of his pants pocket. It is at this point that Beckett realises that she is still wearing his shirt. She blushes furiously, takes the gloves from Castle and walks into the bathroom to change.

"I thought you were going to start in the kitchen." Castle calls after her.

Meanwhile, down at the precinct Ryan and Esposito were talking (in fact gossiping would be a more appropriate word) about Beckett and Castle when Lanie walked in and started listening to their conversation.

"We need to keep them in there." Ryan stated.

"Beckett would shoot him." Esposito counted.

"If she hasn't already then there is a fair chance that she won't."

"She won't like it if she finds out."

Lanie walked off thinking it was an marvellous idea. This was just what Kate needed after what had happened with Josh. Some alone time with Castle is just what the doctor ordered.

Three hours later Castle and Beckett converge in the kitchen to compare notes. They have come up with nothing useful, they have come up with basically nothing at all. If it wasn't for the food in the kitchen they would have thought that nobody lived there. The only thing out of the ordinary that they found were an assortment of maps. All of them had what looked liked routes drawn on them in red pen. Castle is convinced that they are letters and is sitting at the table trying to un-scramble them.

Beckett rolls her eyes at him, shakes her head and pulls out her phone to call Ryan for an update, and to tell him they found nothing of interest. She then walks back into the bedroom and calls Lanie, _time for a little girl talk_, she thinks. _Better that Castle_ _doesn't hear this._

"Hey Lanie"

"Hey Girl. How's the down time with Writer-Boy?" Lanie asks, then without giving her time to answer, continues. "Have you told him yet?"

"No, I have not." Kate replies. "That would make things really awkward."

"Spill. Why would that be awkward?"

"Because wsh hss ts shlp ish ths smas bes." She mumbles quickly.

"What? I didn't quite catch that. Repeat. Slowly." Lanie commands.

"Because we had to sleep in the same bed." Kate repeats. "There I said it, happy now? Hence the awkwardness."

"Girl you aren't telling me everything, are you?" By the stunned silence on the other end of the line, Lanie knows she's right about that. "So, come on. Spill." This is met by the beeping of Kate hanging up on her.

Beckett walks back into the kitchen, "Lunch Castle?" She asks, then adds, "I'll get it."

"Sure," he replies, still distracted by the maps.

Beckett finds cold meats and salad in the fridge, and decides to make sandwiches for lunch.

They share a quite lunch and as they are finishing Castle receives a phone call, which he goes into the other room to answer.

"Hey Beckett, how about a game of Scrabble?" Castle asks as he comes back from his phone call, still looking slightly shocked.

"No way am I playing Scrabble with a writer!" she replies, then looks at the stack. "How about Monopoly?"

"No way. I am not playing Monopoly with you!" Castle replies.

They settle on the chess set, which had backgammon in it as well. They start playing, and after a few games are on fairly even ground. They have got so lost in their games that they are startled to find that it is almost dark when Beckett's phone rings again.

"Hey Boss." It's Ryan, and Esposito, again. "So the guy we sent down to look at the system in that place there said he has no idea how to crack the thing open. But Esposito did manage to track down the place that installed it, they told him it would take at least two days to get you out of there, because the code has been changed and he needs to take it apart."

Beckett sighs, "This is not good, no way is there enough food in her for that long." _Not to mention I don't want to wear the same set of clothes for four days._

"Well maybe you'll just have to ration it out then." Esposito replies.

"Goodnight." Beckett replies, before hanging up.

They have dinner, then sit down, with some popcorn that Castle found, to watch a movie.

After the movie has finished Castle brings up the Josh again. "So, how's Josh?" He asks and continues before she can reply. "I don't just go telling me he's in Haiti, because while that may be true there is something you aren't telling me. I don't know what it is, but I need to know. You've been uptight for the last couple of weeks, and I want to help."

After he finishes speaking Beckett realises that he has moved closer to her, she stands and walks out. Stopping at the doorway to the bedroom she turns towards him.

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Keep your hands to yourself." _And maybe I'll be able to stay on my side of the bed._

Once getting to the bed, she realises her debacle. She hasn't got Castle's shirt to sleep in, so she strips down to her underwear and climbs in to bed._ This cannot end well._

Half an hour later when Castle comes in, she pretends to be asleep, but it's not until she can feel his weight on the other side of the bed that she falls asleep.

She dreams again.

**AN: My muse ran away with my brain while I was writing this piece, so I will soon also be posting (review pending) an accompanying story to this one which will be Castles musings during this case(for which I have already have written up to this chapter for). I wanted to put them together, but my muse wouldn't let me, so let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks to those who reviewed and alerted. Makes me smile. I also have a question. Can a dream be made up of thought processes? An answer to that would be great. **

**Enjoy :D**

**AN II: Th****anks to ****ciao2147**** who noticed that my tenses were all mixed up. This chapter had been edited and reposted due to that.**

**Chapter 4**

_Kate Beckett is standing in front of a mirror admiring her reflection in her wedding dress when Lanie walked in, dressed in her purple bridesmaid dress, to help her with her veil. Alexis walked in soon after, with flowers for all of them, before they both left and her father entered, and came to stand behind her at the mirror._

"_You look beautiful Katie." He told her. "Your mother would have been proud." Both sets of eyes tear up slightly before he continues, pulling out a simple necklace with a small diamond pendant on it. "This was given to your mother on her wedding day, by her mother, and to her on her wedding day. If your mother were here it would have been hers to give you. So I will carry on the tradition in her place." Kate is now pleased that she has waterproof mascara on, because she is really tearing up._

"_It's time to go Dad."_

_Next thing she knows she is walking down the aisle with her father, but the only person she can see is Rick. He is more than the 'ruggedly handsome' he had described himself as not long after they met, and Kate can't keep her eyes off him. It seems he was having the same problem with her_.

_She doesn't recall saying her vows, or hearing his for that matter. But she does remember putting his ring on his finger, and receiving hers. _

_The reception is a blur, as is the rest of the night, although something tells her it was amazing, it always is with Rick. All she remembers was snuggling in bed with Rick after an exhausting day. He curled into her back, and nuzzled into her neck as she drifted to sleep._

And that is exactly the way she woke up, with Castle wrapped around her, nuzzling and kissing her neck. She can't control the smile that spreads across her face. Until she realises that they were both wearing only their underwear, and he is defiantly having a good dream. About her.

It isn't long after that that she realises that he is awake, and has awake been for longer than she has been, and that he thought it would be fun to wake her up. _I could get used to being woken in this manor_, the little voice in her head is getting completely out of control, but she doesn't even try to stop it anymore.

Neither of them speak for a while, they just lay there. Beckett thinks that Castle might have gone back to sleep, until he starts talking to her. Trying to pick up the conversation where she had walked out of it last night. But she just gets angry and walks out again.

She is mad. She is livid. He has no right, it is her life and he isn't a big part of it. _But you want him to be, don't you?_ Since when did the voice in her head start asking questions? Since when did she start asking them back?

This has gone too far, she needs something to eat. She storms out to the kitchen, opens the fridge and looks. Eggs. Eggs would be good. She gets out some milk, finds a few herbs in the cupboard and gets to whisking, then cooking eggs. Just for her. Castle be dammed. He can get his own food.

Beckett is in such a state while she is making her breakfast that she doesn't realise that she is still basically naked. That is until Castle comes up and stands so close that she can feel his skin against hers. Her body betrays her mind and relaxes into him. That is until her brain takes over again and she becomes uncomfortable and runs back to the bedroom to get dressed.

When she find her clothes they have been washed and dried over night. _A man who can do washing as well as cook, one of a kind my dear._ She then remembers her breakfast on the stove and dresses quickly and rushes back out to the kitchen.

She stops dead in her tracks at the corner that rounds into the kitchen when she sees Castle, his back to her, bare from the waist up, standing over the stove, finishing her breakfast. She is snapped back to reality by toast popping out of the toaster.

"Castle get dressed." Beckett starts to say, but as Castle turns to get the toast out of the toaster she just stands there, mouth slightly agape. _Where did that body come from? He just sits around all day, doesn't stop me from appreciating it._ Her inner voice is getting completely out of control, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like it, now she just has to figure out how to tell him.

By the time Beckett has finished staring at him he has finished making breakfast for both of them, has it was on the table, and is back, fully dressed before she is even sitting down.

There is so much tension in the air during that meal you could cut it with a knife. Neither spoke, but they could both tell you what the other is thinking. Beckett knows she had to tell him, and she is just working up the courage to do so when her phone rings.

"Hey Boss. We had another body drop this morning. Same setup, guys name is John Brown. 38, wife, two kids, lawyer. Letters addressed Jack Willson in the top draw of his office. And we're still no closer to tracking this guy down. Sorry. There's a guy working o get the two of you out of there."

Beckett repeats this information to Castle, out of habit.

"I've realised something." He exclaims upon hearing the guys name.

"What?"

"All the victim's are named John. John!" Beckett watches in shock as he runs into the other room and picks up the maps from the day before. She watches as he arranges four of them to make what looks somewhat like the word 'John'. She is always amazed at how his brain works.

"But what do the rest of them spell?" She asks.

With a somewhat dejected look, "I have no idea," and with that he starts pouting.

Beckett can't bare her heart to him while he's was acting like a five year old. Now that the she has made up her mind to tell him she wants to do it now, but alas she cannot. It will have to wait. He is staring those maps with such a cute expression of confusion on his face. She could finally admit that he is _still_ as adorable as he was when he was younger. But now that she had waited, would she be able pluck up the courage to tell him again?

No. At least not for a while.

Beckett decides to find a book to read. Despite being a psychopath murder, they guy had taste. She won't let Castle know it, but he owns all of his books, and has them on the shelf in publication order. He's dedicated. Once she figures out his system she finds the book she is looking for. She has been meaning to read some of Patterson's books again. Particularly the 'Women's Murder Club' books, she can totally relate to them. She pulls the first one down and goes out to the lounge to curl up in a comfy chair to read.

Castle isn't around, but she isn't worried, he is a big boy, he can look after himself.

It is a few hours later when Castle calls her for lunch. Why is it always him doing the cooking? Not that she is complaining in anyway, she is just getting way to used to it. She makes a mental note to make dinner tonight, with the only the few things that were bound to be left.

They eat in silence again, though it isn't as tense as breakfast. Beckett wants to talk about the seemingly taboo subject but, for reasons unbeknown to her, he just won't bring it up, and she sure as hell won't. Not now anyway. She needs time to work herself up to it. Maybe tonight, supposing they don't get broken out of here.

Wait. Did she just hope they won't get out of here? Or was she hoping they will get out so she can talk herself out of talking to Castle, because she really can't get away from it unless they are apart. Which so is not happening at this point in time.

As Castle starts getting up from the table Beckett tells him she will get dinner tonight, thank you very much. He has cooked enough in the past couple of days.

With no better way to occupy her afternoon she goes back to her book.

By the time she finishes reading it is almost five, but alas Castle hadn't started dinner. So she gets up and goes to find something to cook. As she opens the fridge to look though it she notes in the back of her brain that there is a very similar amount of food to was there yesterday. Perhaps Castle got something out of the freezer. She finds the makings of a lovely roast dinner.

An hour and half later, she has set the table, and served dinner then calls for Castle. She has no idea what he has been all day. Not that he could have gone very far, just that he hasn't been in the same room as her, that she had noticed.

As they sit down to dinner Beckett knows that she has to have 'the conversation' with Castle. She had built herself up to it while making dinner, but she hasn't figured out how to start. She ponders this while eating her dinner. It is getting dark quickly and the only light they have are the candles she has on the table. _This is a very romantic setting._ I know. _Well?_ Well what?

What, now she has started talking to that little voice in her head? Is she going crazy? Has she already gone crazy? When did she start talking to herself? She really needs to talk to Castle. She was going to, she really was, but Castle stood up and left the table.

"Thanks for dinner Detective. It was really nice." He leaves and heads towards the bedroom.

Beckett sits there stunned. She doesn't know what to think. Last night, and this morning, Castle was all for talking about this, and now that she wants to talk, he is running off. What the hell is going on with him? Whatever it was, she wasn't finding out until morning. Where is all the time going today? How was it almost eleven o'clock? She goes to bed.

When she gets to bed she is relieved to see that Castle is already asleep. She strips down and climbs into bed. Almost as soon as she lays down Castle starts moving towards her in the bed. She doesn't even try to move away. She has acknowledged that she feels for Castle. What she hadn't quite figured out what those feelings are. But for now this will do.

By this time Castle has wrapped his arms around her middle and was snuggled into her back. She, having had a brain draining time in the last few hours thinking, relaxes back into Castle and goes to sleep.

**AN:I have posted an accompaniment story to this one "The Musings of Castle on the John Killer Case" which is just Castle's thoughts ect. during this story.**

**AN II: This Chapter was going to be a bit more angst-ie but I had been to see Wicked! the night before writing this, and was still on a bit of a happy high from that. The angst from this chapter should come up in Castles musings at some point.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Beckett awakens early the next morning, not having dreamt the night before, or that she remembers anyway. But she is happy this morning. Despite the early hour she is alone when she wakes. She wonders where Rick is. Wait, when did he become 'Rick'? She then remembers that she needs to talk with him today. She lays in bed thinking about that fateful day, almost two weeks ago now…

_She was meeting Josh for dinner at some restaurant that he had booked a table at. Just as she sits down, waiting for him, he calls telling her that he only just got out of surgery and he'll still be ten minutes so she orders a drink._

_When he arrives he sits and says that he has something to tell her. _

"_I'm going back to Haiti. I don't know when I'll be back." He states._

"_So…" She replies, hoping he will catch on and tell her what he wants._

"_So, I would like you to come with me."_

"_What? You just expect me to give up my job, my friends, the only family I have left, to go to Haiti with you? Are you crazy? No, I'm not going, I'm not leaving everything I've worked my whole life for to go with you."_

_She promptly gets up and walks out, not caring what anyone thinks, and gets a cab and heads home. As she gets home another cab pulls up behind hers and Josh gets out._

"_Will you at least think about it?"_

"_I don't have to think about it. You want me to leave my life behind, you're not worth it. You don't know me that well if you think I'd leave everything behind to gallivant across the world with you." It comes out harshly, she doesn't care._

_He snatches up her hand. "Was I ever worth it? Did I ever have a chance? She pulls her hand away from him and walks towards her building. "Well?" He asks._

"_Sorry, no. you never had a chance." Then even surprising herself. "It was always him. It always will be."_

Kate is pulled out of her little day dream by the man in question calling for her with some urgency.

"Beckett! Beckett, you awake in there?" He asks, sounding quite agitated.

"Yeah, I am." She replies. "What's wrong?"

"You gotta come see this." He says as he comes into the room. Kate starts to get out of the bed slowly, but Castle has other ideas and rushes over, pulls her out by the arm and practically drags her into the kitchen.

"Ok Castle." She starts in that irritated voice she keeps just for him. "You've got me here, what do I need to look at?"

"This." He says, and opens the fridge for her to look inside.

Beckett stands there, mouth agape. The fridge defiantly has more food in it than it did yesterday. She had taken almost the last thing out of it for dinner last night. If Rick didn't know how it got there, and she didn't know how it got there, then how did it get there?

They are both startled when her phone rings.

"Let me guess," she says as she answers the phone. "You've found another body. His name is John. He was strung up like the others."

Esposito barely gets out an astounded, "Yes," before she continues.

"I've got something to ask. Have you guys gotten past the security in this place yet?"

"No." Esposito answers. "Why?"

"Great. This can only mean one thing."

"What? What can only mean one thing?" Esposito is trying to get some sort of information out of her.

"The fridge. The fridge was full this morning when Castle got up to get breakfast. That can only mean that someone, presumably the killer, can get in somehow. Which also means that we could get out somehow. Thanks for your help." Beckett says as she hangs up her phone.

"Castle." She almost screeches his name as she feels his hands on her bare shoulders, and it is only then that she realises that she hasn't dressed yet today. She wacks his hands away before continuing. "Someone has been in here overnight. I don't really know who, and I have no idea why, but what we need to figure out is how." She then storks out of the room to get dressed, finds her clothes clean again and is slightly creeped out, but has no other option but to get dressed.

Beckett only just brings herself to eat breakfast that morning. Just knowing that some serial killer has been sneaking into the apartment every night is enough to make her loose her appetite, so Castle forced her to eat something. All he could convince her to eat was a little toast.

As soon as Beckett is finished eating, she is up from the table. "We need to figure out how he's getting in. You take that half," She says, pointing to her left. "And, I'll take the other."

"No."

"No?" She questions. "Why not?"

"Because we don't know what will be on the other side of whatever door we find." Castle tells her, and before set can rebut that statement, he continues. "I don't mean to say that we can't look, it just has to be together."

"Fine." Beckett replies reluctantly, and they head towards the bedroom to start checking walls for concealed exits.

They get through the bedroom and adjoining bathroom and find nothing. Once out of there Beckett notices a hall closet. She pulls out her flashlight and opens the door, Castle standing closely behind her. All she can see from the door are coats. She enters and can feel Castle moving in behind her. Moving aside the coats and walks further.

As she gets to the back to the closet she notices a small handle, seeming sticking out of the wall, so she grabs it.

"Wait." Castle says to her.

"Why?" Beckett asks. She shines her light in his face and notices a look on his face that she had only seen on his face a limited number of times. "You need to tell me why."

"Just because," He starts. "It's not how I would write it."

"What happens in your version?"

"This door," he indicates to the one behind Beckett. "Is a decoy. It's way too obvious. A door in the back of a closet, it's been done. Maybe not quite like this, and if you think about it, this one would lead to the outside of the building. A three story drop. That is if it opens. If I were writing it the 'door' would be on the only side of the apartment that isn't on the outside of the building, or facing the hallway."

"So, then why did you follow me in here?" In answer to her question he just raises his eyebrows suggestively.

At this point she realises that she still hasn't had 'the conversation' with Castle yet, but now is neither the time or the place.

"Lead away, Mr Castle." Beckett says to him as they exit the small closet that they had been in for almost ten minutes.

They make their way across the apartment towards the study, for once she is following him. _A rather lovely view_. She has long since stopped questioning that small voice in her head that pops up every so often.

"So Castle," Beckett starts as they enter the study. "If this were you, where would you put the hidden door?"

Beckett looks around the study and sees that it is somewhat similar to Castle's. There is a large mahogany desk taking pride of place in the centre of the room. Three of the walls are lines with shelves, though only one walls has books on it. The other shelves are adorned with trinkets. The fourth wall, behind the desk, is covered with a mural. It is all in different shades of red, and when Beckett takes a closer look she is quite disturbed by what it is.

It is towards this wall that she see Castle move. She watches as he examines the wall closely, then turns towards her.

"I've found it." Is all he says.

Beckett takes a closer look at the wall, but can't see anything. "Ok wise guy, where's the door?" She asks.

Castle prods the wall a few times and a door springs open away from them.

"Ok, wow." Beckett says astonished.

"Lead the way, Detective." Castle replies with a flourish of his arm.

Beckett turns her flashlight on and goes through the doorway. Castle follows closely behind her.

**AN: I didn't really want this chapter to end this early, but when I was writing it, it just kinda happened.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: May I start by saying… how awesome was the To Live and Die in LA? Only two more left! Anyway, there was this little thing called school that got in the way of writing this week. But it's done now, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, Beckett or the fictional counterparts of the already fictional characters. (Nikki Heat, Jameson Rook or their book **_**Heat Wave)**_

_**:D**_

**Chapter 6**

"_Lead the way, Detective." Castle replies with a flourish of his arm._

_Beckett turns her flashlight on and goes through the doorway. Castle follows closely behind her._

Except for glow of Beckett's flashlight the passage way is pitch black. Once inside Beckett moves the beam of light around. All she finds is that the passage is only about three feet wide.

They start their slow walk into the depths of the passage. Beckett can almost see Castle walking as though he is an early explorer and she smiles at the thought. After what could only be about ten steps, he seems to be getting impatient.

"Why are we moving so slowly?" He asks, sound like an over spoilt five-year-old.

"Because," Beckett answers, half turning but continuing to walk. "We don't know where-" She stops med sentence as she has walked into a wall where the passage takes a sharp right turn, and her flashlight goes out. "And proving my point. We don't know where it might lead." She shakes her flashlight a few times and it comes back on, but the beam is very dim now. "Now stay behind me. No more complaining." She states as she moves on.

He complies and walks behind her in complete silence.

As Beckett walks along she is counting how many steps she is taking in between each turn, and which way the passage is turning.

Four steps. Left turn. Three steps. Left again. Four more. A Right.

She also notices that they are moving steadily downwards.

After what seems like hours, but could have only been about ten minutes, Beckett stops dead in her tracks. Castle, not paying that much attention to his surroundings, runs into her.

"What's the problem Beckett?" He asks.

Beckett doesn't respond, instead she shines her light left and the beam pitiers into the passage.

"Yeah, so what's the problem?" he asks again.

She then shines her light right, where it also pitiers out, instead of hitting a wall like Beckett had thought it would.

"You see the problem now?" She asks with a smirk.

"Uhh…Yeah…Now what?"

"Now," Beckett starts. "You will stand here with my flashlight while I take five steps in that direction," –Pointing to her left-"and then come back." She hands over her flashlight but doesn't manage to take one step before Castle grabs her arm.

"What will that prove?" He asks slightly too roughly.

"That alone will prove nothing. After going one way, I will go the other." She snaps at him.

"And that will prove…?"

"I'm the detective, let me detect." She says through clenched teeth before she takes off.

"Beckett."

"What Castle?"

"Beckett."

"What?"

"Beckett."

"Beckett?"

"Kate?"

"Yes Castle?" She asks, stand in front of him again.

"What did that prove?"

"Only that you're too annoying for your own good." Beckett takes off in the other direction.

"Beckett."

"Beckett." The beam of light flickers once.

"Beckett?" The beam flickers again, more violently this time.

"Kate?" The small passage is plunged into darkness.

"KATE!" Castle yells out.

"Castle." She says to him, somewhat panicked, as she realises that she has gone further than she intended to because she was annoyed with him. "Start talking. So I can find my way back."

"What should I talk about?" His voice comes out a lot higher pitched than it normally is and Beckett is worried.

"I don't know. How about you recite some of one of your books. Sure you can do that." She replies.

"OK, yeah…. Umm, _Heat Wave_?" He asks.

"Anything is fine." She replies. "Just keep talking."

"Last chapter. Always the best part..

_**The heat wave broke late that night, and it did not go quietly. As a front from Canada bullied its way down the Hudson, it collided with the hot, stagnant air of New York and spawned an aerial show of lightning, swirling winds, and sideways rain. TV meteorologists patted themselves on the back and pointed to red and tangerine splotches on Doppler radar as the skies opened and the thunder ripped like cannon fire through the stone and glass canyons of Manhattan.**_

She stopped to listen. He had an amazing voice, very soothing. Beckett knew that already, she had gone to many of his readings before she knew him. She kept moving, she still didn't know how far away he was.

_**On Hudson in Tribeca, Nikki Heat slowed down to avoid splashing the diners huddled under umbrellas outside Nobu, praying in vain for open cabs to get them uptown in the downpour. She turned onto Rook's street and pulled the police car into an open space in a loading zone up the block from his building.**_

"_**You still pissed at me?" he said.**_

"_**No more than usual." She put the car in Park. "I just get quiet after I clear a case. It's like I've been turned inside out."**_

_**Rook hesitated, something on his mind. "Anyway, thanks for the ride in all this."**_

"_**No problem."**_

"Castle," Beckett yells as his voice seems to be getting quieter.

"Yeah?" He answers.

"It's Nothing. Keep going." Beckett yells back. _No point worrying him_ she thinks. She turn 180 degrees and starts walking again.

_**Frankenstein lightning hit so close that the strobe flash lit their faces the same time as the thunder crack. Tiny hailstones began to pepper the roof. "If you see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," said Rook, "duck."**_

_**She gave up a thin laugh that turned into a yawn. "Sorry."**_

"_**Sleepy?"**_

"_**No, tired. I'm way too cranked to sleep."**_

_**They sat listening to the storm rage. A car crept past with water up to its hubcaps.**_

_**At last, he broke the silence. "Look, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I just don't know how to play this. We work together—well, sort of. We slept together—most definitely. We have smoking hot sex one time, but soon afterwards, don't try holding hands, not even in the relative privacy of a taxicab.**_

"_**I'm trying to figure the rules. This isn't yin and yang, it's more like yin and yank. The past few days I've been going, OK, she doesn't mix the hot sex and romance so well with the single-mindedness of the police work. So it gets me wondering, Is the solution for me to give up our working relationship? Stop my magazine research so we can—?"**_

Finally his voice seems to be getting louder again. She keeps going.

_**Nikki grabbed him into a deep kiss. Then she pulled away and said, "Will you shut up?" Before he could say yes, she grabbed Rook again, throwing her mouth back onto his. He wrapped his arms around her. She undid her seat belt and drew closer to him. Their faces and clothes became drenched in sweat. Another flash of lightning lit up the car through windows fogged by the heat of their bodies.**_

_**Nikki kissed his neck and then his ear. And then she whispered to him, "Do you really want to know what I think?"**_

Beckett is close enough that she can feel his presence. He's up to the last few sentences of the book, and she's read it so many times that she knows it by heart.

_**He didn't speak, he only nodded.**_

_**The low rumble of thunder finally reached them. When it tailed off, Nikki sat up, reached for the keys, and killed the ignition. **_

Beckett touches his arm and speaks Nikki's words for him.

"_**Here's what I think. I think after all this, I've got energy to burn. Do you have any limes and salt and anything fun in a bottle?"**_

To which Castle replies.

"_**I do."**_

Beckett is overwhelmed by his voice.

_Had it really been over two years since she had been to one of his readings? The last one she had been to was just after he started following her. She used to go to his readings as often as she could. She had gone to at least one from every book, she would stand in the back, get her book signed and leave as soon as possible, until the Heat series. She didn't go because she heard his voice enough when she was at work, or that's what she tried telling herself anyway. The real reason? She couldn't be an anonymous bystander anymore, everyone would know who she was, it wouldn't be the same. She had thought it would never be the same again and she was right, it wasn't the same, it was better._

She needs to doing something about this feeling, but it is so dark that her eyes still haven't adjusted. She puts her other hand on his arm as well and starts moving both hands up his arms.

"Um… Beckett?" He questions as her hands move to his shoulders, and start on his neck.

"Shut up Rick," She says, and her hands are one on each side of his face. "Just shut up."

He has no choice but to comply as her lips press to his in a searing kiss.

**Again the chapter felt the need to finish here without my permission.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to those who have reviewed to this story. I would reply to them all but a) my email was being stupid and I couldn't access anything, and b) when that started work the reply to review page stopped working. Anyway, Enjoy. And just saying…. Who totally can't wait for the final next week?**

**Thanks to****rokerroar who picked up a slight misspelt word, this chapter has been edited because of this.**

**Chapter 7**

Beckett is standing in the darkness, her hands on his face, her lips pressed to his. Her senses are heightened because of her lack of sight. She can feel the stubble of a few days growth on his face. She can smell the smell that is just so him. As he gets over the shock and starts to react, she can taste him and hear him moan in the back of his throat.

Its seems as soon as it starts, it's over. He's, gently, pulling his lips away from hers.

"Kate, what about.." he starts, but never manages to finish his sentence.

"I thought I told you to shut up Rick" She responds as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls his lips back to hers.

This one is shorter than the last, if that is possible. Before she knows it Castle is gently pushing her lips away again, one finger covering them.

"You need to tell me what's going on. With you, with Josh. With us." He tells her.

"Josh and I aren't together anymore." This is all she says, and she knows that isn't enough for him when she hears him sigh. She stands there, herhands on his arms again, and continuously moves her weight from one foot to the other. She would pace, but lack of light would make that difficult without tripping or running into a wall. She can sense that he wants to know, but doesn't want to overstep the boundary and ask her, she also feels that she needs to get it off her chest, so she continues.

"He went to Haiti again. He wanted me to go with him." It was somehow easier to not call him by name. "I told him that if he thought I would drop everything and go that he was crazy." Now comes the hard part, does she need to tell him anything else. Yeah, she does. He asked her to tell him what is going on with them. So she would. "I also told him that he wasn't worth dropping everything to go half way across the world with. I told him he never had a chance." She takes a deep breath, it's now or never. "That there was someone else. Had been the whole time we were together." Beckett would give anything just to see his face right now.

She hears him let out a breath, then he grabs her and crushes her to him and she burries her face in his chest.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Castle asks eventually, his voice muffled by her hair.

She pulls her head back and answers, "I thought it would make things awkward, then we got trapped in that apartment and it definitely would have made things awkward. Very awkward."

"And," Castle replies. "I hear an 'and' coming."

"And," She over dramatically responds. "I wasn't sure if you-" She stops and waves her arms around in the air, trying to find the right word, until she realises that he can't see her.

"You weren't sure if I what?" Castle asks carefully.

"You know what?" Beckett says, seemingly ignoring his question. "We need to finish this conversation in the light somewhere. Where's your phone."

"Are you ignoring me?"

"No," Beckett all but spits the word at him. "But we need to get out of here."

"Maybe so, but we need to finish this conversation, and I know you. If I let this go, you will never pick it up again." He replies, his voice ending softer than Beckett expects it to.

Beckett sighs, "Fine," she replies. "I'll tell you." She pauses, she had been avoiding the big elephant in the room for as long as she had known him, but she knows that if she doesn't tell him that he will keep badgering her about it until she gets so annoyed that she hurts him. She sighs again. "Ok, I never told you because I wasn't sure how you felt about me."

"Wasn't. As in past tense?" He asks.

"I should have known you'd pick that up." Beckett mumbles. "So yes. Past tense."

"As in you now know how I feel about you?" Beckett can hear the grin on his face.

"Yes." She wants to say more, but she wants him to ask for it, and he rises to her expectations.

"How?" He asks, his voice is giddy, he can barely contain himself. "How do you know?"

"Well," She starts, and she drags the single word out as far as she can. "Since residing in the same apartment as you for the last three nights, and waking up in the same bed as you, I have come to realise that you care for me. As more than a friend."

As soon as she has finished speaking Castle's lips are upon hers. The kiss it sweet, lingering. There isn't an ounce of passion behind it. Until Beckett wraps her arms around his neck again and he backs her up against the wall.

Eventually Castle pulls away, sucking in deep breaths. "Did you," Gasp, "Ask me," Gasp, "About my phone?"

"Yeah." Beckett replies, slightly out of breath herself. "We need to get out of here. My flash light is dead. I need your phone."

She can hear him patting his pockets, searching for his phone. "I don't have it." he says, his voice meek like a child who knows they have done something wrong.

"What do you mean you don't have your phone?" Beckett explodes at him.

"I. Don't. Have. It. I didn't think I needed it."

"Mr I-love-my-iPhone didn't bring it with him? How? Why? Don't even answer that." _How are we going to get out of here?_ She would have started pacing if it wasn't for Castle still blocking her against the wall.

"Wall." Castle exclaims, at that moment. "If the wall is behind you, then we came from that way." He grabs her hand, turns 180 degrees and starts off at a hellish pace.

"Slow down Cowboy." Beckett says to him. "Or you might just run into a wall." At which he slows down to a much more subdued pace.

They walk back up the passage holding hands. Castle slightly ahead of Beckett, he walks into a couple of walls before he learns that he should hold his other hand in front of him while walking. Beckett laughs at him the couple of times he walks into the wall, but karma is a bitch. When his trips on something he holds her hand tighter and pulls her down with him.

It is in that moment of silence between them that she hears something. "Shh, Castle." She says as she gets up. "I hear something." She listens intently. There is the rustle of clothing and footsteps. She can't figure out if it is coming from behind them or ahead of them . She backs Castle up against the wall and stands in front of him.

Then she sees the glow of torch light coming from around a couple of bends.

**AN: I took the liberty of giving Castle and iPhone, don't know if that's what sort of phone he has, as it always changes, but I've seen him with an iPad, so… if I was wrong feel free to tell me! Thanks**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So I totally planned to get this out before the final, but having to go to work totally got in my way, so did getting sick. Then I was totally stunned by the end, so it took me a while to finish it.**

**Many thanks to BlueTigress and phnxgrl for their awesome reviews. Also a big thanks to rokerroar who picked up a slight technicality in my last chapter, which has by the way been fixed.**

**Anyway, Read, Enjoy, Review.**

**Chapter 8**

_There is the rustle of clothing and footsteps. She can't figure out if it is coming from behind them or ahead of them . She backs Castle up against the wall and stands in front of him. _

_Then she sees the glow of torch light coming from around a couple of bends._

Beckett stands in front of Castle, practically squashing him against the wall. To his credit he doesn't even attempt to move. She is trying to figure out who might be coming for them. Whoever it is coming from in front of them, so from the direction of the apartment, which only means that the boys might have been able to break them out. Or that there is yet another secret door that they know nothing about, and it is their killer that is coming for them after seeing the door in the study open.

Beckett is cut from her thought by a voice, or is that two voices? It is still too far away to tell, but constantly getting closer. She stiffens as she realises that whoever it is will be upon them in mere seconds. She pats her pockets, hoping to find something that will be of use, but comes up empty. She squishes Castle further into the wall, if that is even possible. Beckett brings up her hands, ready for a hand-to-hand combat if the need arose.

The light comes around the bend, blinding her, and she hears a shout of her name. In a voice she recognised.

"Ryan." She shouts. "Get that light out of my eyes." The light moves, then there is a shout from Castle.

"Ryan!" He sounds exasperated, "Light." After that he seems to only get single words out. "Eyes. Move."

Beckett is confused by this. Until she sees Ryan's face, and the smirk on it, and abruptly moves away from Castle.

"Ok, why are you down here?"

"Well.." Ryan draws the word out. "We busted the door open today, and when we couldn't find you we called your phone's. Then when we heard both of them ring we started a search of the house and found the door wide open, so Esposito and I followed it down here."

Beckett looks past Ryan to Esposito, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Yep." He answers her unasked question. "That's it. Now come back and you can tell us what you were doing down here." Ryan and Esposito leave the two of them in their wake, Becket hears Esposito comment. "You'd think they had enough privacy in the last couple of days…"

"Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean I can't hear you." Beckett shouts after them. She hears a clunk, then feet running away down the passage from them. Beckett grabs Castles hand and heads down the passage, after two turns they find a flashlight. _So that's what that clunk was._

When they get to where she can see the glow coming from out of apartment Beckett stops and backs up a few passes with Castle. As soon as she has him against a wall, she kisses him. Long, slow and full of passion, until they are both out of breath.

"This stays here." She starts, and continues before he can protest. "Until we put this case to bed. Understand?"

"Always." He answers as she steps away from him and makes her way out of the passage and back into the apartment.

They met Ryan and Esposito back in the kitchen. "What were you guys doing down there?" Esposito asks, a smirk on his face.

"Well," Castle begins. "I got up this morning and was just about to start making breakfast when I look in the fridge and find that there is more food in there than there was yesterday. So I think to myself 'what's going on here?'. So, long story short, we went looking to see if we could find out how someone could find out how someone could in here, if not by the front door. After searching, and a slight detour-" at which point Beckett glares at him, "-we found the door in the study, followed it to see if we could get out."

"So what were you doing in the dark?" Ryan asks, clearly confused.

"The batteries in my flashlight died." Beckett says in a no nonsense tone. "So where are we on whoever owns this apartment, and has been killing those people?"

"Umm, no." Esposito answers carefully. "All I can tell you is that the guy we found this morning was John Dower, 39, divorced, 3 children who live with their mother. He an office worker."

"So after 4 murders, no leads." She says. "How we gonna catch this guy?"

"Well I have an idea." Ryan says, "But you aren't going to like it."

Beckett and Castle both raise their eyebrows at the same time in question.

"Isn't it cute when they do that?" Esposito asks Ryan.

"What's the idea Ryan?" Beckett asks in a flat voice.

"That it would be a good idea for the two of you to stay another night so we can catch this guy in the act."

"No." Beckett says in harsh voice. "Just No. Not going to happen. I need to go home. I have been wearing the same clothes for the last four days. Not to mention that we are in the apartment of a serial killer. It's creepy."

"But it might lure him back." Esposito says.

"If you think it's such a good idea why don't you stay here?" She asks her boys.

"Because then he would know that we have got in-" Ryan was cut short by Beckett.

"Because he won't already know now that you guys have gotten in. No. I'm not staying. I'm leaving and you can't stop me." Beckett says as grabs Castle's arm and stalks towards the door.

"Your right, they can't, but I can." Montgomery says as he appears in the doorway.

"Sir?" Becket questions.

"I can make you stay. I can't make him stay-" He points to Castle. "-but I can make you stay." Montgomery tells her.

"If she's staying, I stay as well." Castle responds to the challenge.

"Ahh, young love." Ryan says.

"Isn't it grand?" Esposito responds.

Beckett ignores the boys and speaks to the Captain again. "But Sir. How can you expect me to stay here. I need a change of clothes. Not to mention some more food.."

"I can organise all that for you two." Montgomery answers. "I'll have everything here within the hour. Now everybody out, and lock 'er up tight again. This guy has to think we've never been here."

With his word everyone scrambles about, and the crime scene techs put everything back the way it was.

Just over half an hour later Ryan and Esposito arrive back with bags for each of them and another of food, and promptly leave so the door can be locked again.

"It's going to be a long night." Beckett says to no one in particular.

"It could be very productive." Castle replies with a suggestive grin.

**AN: This was kind of hard to finish as I was about half way through writing the scene with the captain in it when I saw the final… for those that have seen it you will understand my issue! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Two things: I know it's been a while, and I know its short, but I have exams coming up so…. Studying kinda comes first, and also the muse cramp that I got from having to write a story in my English class. Also it could be a couple of weeks before another chapter is up.**

**Chapter 9**

"_It's going to be a long night." Beckett says to no one in particular._

"_It could be very productive." Castle replies with a suggestive grin. _

She just rolls her eyes at him and walks into the bedroom.

"Right then, I'll start dinner." She hears from behind her.

_This could be interesting,_ she thinks as she starts to look through the bag that Lanie packed for her. As she pulls clothes out of the bag she thinks that Lanie, somehow, managed to contain herself. There's a couple of sets of clothes for tomorrow, a pair of pyjamas, and a few sets of underwear that are even fairly conservative. All of her toiletries, even her cherry shampoo, are in there. She even digs out her phone charger_. Yes._ Just as she thinks she has pulled everything out she see something in the bottom of the bag that is almost exactly the same dark colour as the bag but not quite. She puts her hand in and is going to pull it out to see what it is, that is until she feels it. She knows exactly what it is. The one pair of matching sexy panties that she owns. Lanie must have search high and low for those, and only because she knew they were there…

_It was after the case when she had to arrest Royce. She was having a hard time dealing with it, and dealing with everything associated with Castle. The treasure hunt, and subsequent hug, didn't make things any better, so late one Friday afternoon she marched down to the morgue to see her best friend. After ranting at her to what felt like hours Lanie stopped her mid sentence._

"_Girl, what you need is a day out, away from all the men in your life. Tomorrow we're have a girls day." And so it was._

_The next day they hit the shops. Lanie got her to buy things she never thought she'd wear, and spend way too much money in the process. They had lunch in a small café and Lanie said she just had one more place to go. Kate agreed, how bad could it be, she thought, but Lanie took her into the one place Kate did not want to be right then._

_Victoria Secrets. _

_Kate tried walking out as soon as she realised where they were, but Lanie had her firmly by the arm. "Nuh uh, Girl. You coming in here. You're gonna get something for that motorcycle riding boyfriend of yours."_

"_What's the point Lanie?" Kate asked. "Josh never takes the time to appreciate it."_

"_You are not getting out of this that easy. I don't care who you buy it for, buy it for the Writer-Boy for all I care, but you will not be leaving this shop with nothing." Lanie stated and started to walk off before Kate stopped her._

"_Yeah ok, but who are you shopping for?" She asked but Lanie didn't respond and just walked off._

_Twenty minutes later Kate found herself leaving the shop with one very skimpy set of black lacy panties that she never intend to wear. So much so, that when she got home that day she didn't even take the tags off before she unceremoniously stuffed them in the back of her draw._

She pulls the garments out of the bag and fins a note under them from Lanie.

**I see you never did wear these, never even thought of them if where I found them was any indication. Now's your chance. **

She is reading the note for about the tenth time when Castle calls her for dinner.

"Coming." She replies as she stuffs everything back in the bag. Castle _so_ did not need to see that, she would never hear the end of it if he did.

After dinner Beckett decided that she really needs a shower and a change of clothes. She finds a towel, grabs her bag and heads for the bathroom. She stands in the shower for a good twenty minutes, washing her hair twice, the scent of cherries intoxicating her. Finally she gets out, dresses in her pyjamas and dries her hair as much as she can.

"Castle, I'm done.." Beckett starts but she trails off as she sees a thoroughly confused look on his face. It's not until she sees what he is holding that she realises.

_Oh Shit._


	10. Chapter 10

**So, it's short and sweet again and I've bumped it up to and M, not sure if it needed it, but just to be safe, because this is what comes from being totally annoyed at my Physics teacher all weekend…. Anyway, rant over. Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 10**

_Oh shit._ Beckett thinks. _How did he get those? I put everything back in the bag before dinner._ But she then looks around the room, as if taking everything in for the first time. Everything is in dark shades of, well, dark. The walls are a very dark blue colour. The rug on the floor is the colour of the sky on a moonless night, and the bedspread is the darkest shade of purple imaginable without being black. After all that she still can't believe that she missed them.

She looks at Castle and the almost strangled expression on his face. "Castle." She says, trying to snap him out of his trance. "Rick!" She yells.

Castle snaps his head up at the sound of his name. "Kate, I…Uh…" He says lamely, and holds them out for her to take.

"Go take a shower Rick. They'll be gone when you get back." Beckett takes the garments and tries soothing his frazzled state. She's never seen him this lost for words before.

"Uh…Yeah…. I'll do that…" He says and almost trips over his feet trying to get to his bag, though he seems to have recovered himself by the time he gets to the bathroom door. "But I really want to see them modelled." He says before quickly closing the door so that Beckett doesn't have time to react.

Beckett paces the room for what seems like hours to her, but could have been no more than ten minutes. She was trying to figure out what to do with the bunch of lace that was still in her hand, she hadn't been intending to wear them, and she knew if she did something would happen between them. Did she want that? Of that she wasn't sure. It had been a long and confusing day, and after the boys had finally got in, she wasn't allowed out. She felt that she could just about kill the Captain right now. Or was it Lanie she wanted to kill for packing her bag the way she did? Or better yet, the unknown man who's apartment they were in. Yeah, she could really go for killing him.

Beckett is pulled out of her thought process by the sound of the shower being turned off. She had to make a decision, and act on it fast.

Decision made, she changed into her black lacy undergarments and slid herself under the covers, turning off the light on her side of the bed, she pretends to be asleep when Castle walks back into the room.

She hears him walking around the room and peeks a look at what he's wearing. Just his boxers. She almost moans at the sight of him, she still doesn't understand how he is that well toned. It just doesn't make any sense.

Her little peek show is disturbed when Castle turns the light out. She hears him walk towards the bed, and feels the mattress depress as he climbs into the bed. She feels like her nerve endings are on fire, and he hasn't even touched her yet.

"I know you're not asleep yet." Come the voice from the dark. "Come over here, I'm lonely."

Beckett doesn't reply, she just slowly makes her way across the bed. Too slow for Castle's liking if the way he moves is any indication.

Beckett smiled to herself as she felt Castle running his hand up her bare arm, as if he were expecting it. But soon enough that simple touch just wasn't enough, she turned on her side and closed the gap between them. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips on his in a searing kiss.

He has one hand in her hair and the other on her arse, under her panties as she runs her tongue over his lips. His lips open with a moan that she swallows and she runs her hands down his bare back.

_Stuff the consequences. _Kate Beckett had known what she was getting into when she put the lacy undergarments on, and she intends on getting it.

As Castle rolled her onto her back she could feel his want for her, his need, and it matched her own need for him. Her last fleeting thought as his mouth left hers and started a trail downward was, _This is what heaven would be like._


	11. Chapter 11

**To all those reading, I am terribly sorry for the lack of an update for so long, I live in Australia and am up to the very critical end of my final year at school, so it has been tough going for me for the last couple of months. But I was sitting, waiting for my doctor to see me today, and inspiration struck…. So I started writing.**

**This Chapter is definitely a bit smutty, it's my first attempt, so be nice.**

**Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 11**

_Kate was laying on the bed, her breath coming out in short pants, her arms limp on the bed, as Rick's lips ran a scorching path down her neck and towards the edge of her lacy bra. The hand that was in her hair, gently massaging the back of her head, moves slowing down her neck, then her arm, taking the thin, almost nonexistent white bra strap with it as he suck one nipple into his mouth. Kate lets out a strangled sound, something between a sigh and a moan and the next thing she knew that lacy black bra was gone Rick was lavishing the bare skin of one breast while one of his hands took care of the other. _

_Kate was in heaven, but reality soon caught up with her and she spurred into action. She raised her arms to Rick's shoulders and caught sight of the sparkle coming from her left hand and smiled. She had just known there was a reason this was happening. She pulled his mouth back up to hers for another scorching kiss and ran her hand quickly down his chest and into his boxers, where she found his, as always, impressively hard length. Rick let out a hearty moan as she stroked him, and managed to pull his boxers clear off without him noticing._

_Notice he may not have, but reciprocate he did. Rick none to gently ripped her panties off of her and began to stroke her folds. Kate forgot her own name as he slowly pushed one finger inside of her and pulled it out just as slowly. Only to be joined by a second and a third. It was as she felt the subtle ridge of his wedding ring along her inner wall for the first time that she fell over the edge. _

_Rick smiled to himself, it was the quickest he had ever brought her over with his fingers alone, and it was a beautiful sight. He didn't give her time to fully come down from her high before he entered her in one swift stroke. He stayed like that for what seem like hours. Even after two years the feel of them together, so intimately, was something that he always savoured. _

_Kate eventually wrapped her legs around his waist, and that was his cue. He pulled almost all the way out, then slowly slid back in, over and over. Until the sounds coming out of them both were moans, and Kate let out a, "Oh, Rick, faster." That was all he needed to here._

_He pulled out and thrust back in over and over again until she was screaming out his name, and when she fell over the edge he was right behind her. He collapsed to her side and pulled he still slightly shaking form to his body, and sleep started to take its hostages._

"_I love you Mrs Castle." Rick mumbled sleepily as he kissed the top of her head._

"_I love you, too, Mr Castle." Came Kate's reply and she drifted peacefully of to sleep._

Beckett is startled out of her deep slumber, and wonderful dream, by the sound of a man trying to quietly curse after stubbing his little toe on the wall. She moves to get out of the bed and realises that she is engulfed in Castle's very warm embrace, and that he is still asleep. Also that not all of the dream she had been have had come from her memory. She smiled to herself, reliving the memory of the previous night, until she heard the man in the house cursing again and decided that it was time to take action.

"Castle." She said, gently shaking his arm, while the other had is firmly planted over his mouth so that he won't make any noise. "Castle. You need to wake up."

He woke slowly, mumbling, trying to take in his surroundings. Making too much noise for Beckett's liking.

"Castle You need to b quite. There's someone out there that I need to catch. Now had me that robe." Beckett said all this to him in such a rushed whisper that Castle didn't even question her, just handed her the robe from his side of the bed.

Beckett got out of bed and pulled on the robe, placing her badge and cuffs from the bedside table in one pocket. Taking the her gun in hand she headed towards the door. As she open the door to exit the room she turned to look at Castle and said one word. "Stay."

In the seconds it takes Beckett to exit the bedroom she turns to full on cop mode. She stand against the wall and can see a glow from what she thinks is the direction of the study. She slowly moves along the wall, staying in the shadows as she makes her way towards the living room. As she gets to the corner of the wall she hears the man shuffling towards her. She stops and waits. When she thinks that he is only a couple of feet away she jumps out of her hiding place.

"NYPD. Hands in the air." She yells at him.

The man is so startled by her presence that he does as she tells him to and doesn't even blink an eyelid when she cuffs him and pushes him to the ground. He's a large man well over six foot and very well set, yet he complies to her wishes.

"Castle!" Beckett yells, and he appears almost immediately from where she jumped out from only moments ago. "Call the Captain, we've got ourselves an intruder."

As Castle walks away Beckett notices a trail of blood from the kitchen, traipsing through most of the apartment. She then looks down at the man at her feet and notices that he is bleeding fairly severely from his right foot.

While looking down she also notices that she is only wearing a robe, and that she had better get changed before the boy got here or she would never hear the end of it.

**Thanks for reading, let me know what you think. There will probably only be one or two more chapters, though I don't know how long it will take to get them up with the whole end of year school thing happening…**


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